On 9 September 1835 the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822 was amended to include bulls, dogs, bears, goats and sheep, to prohibit bear-baiting and cockfighting, which facilitated further legislation to protect animals which had fought in Southwark’s Bear Garden. A Tudor pastime, huge English Mastiff dogs would be let loose to attack a large bear that had had its teeth filed down and was chained to a stake in the centre of an open arena.
On 9 September 1915 at 10:40pm a Zeppelin bomb fell on The Dolphin, 44 Red Lion Street, Holborn killing three. The clock is frozen at that time
The last person to be executed at the Tower of London was German soldier Josef Jakobs in 1941, shot by a military firing squad
Until 1994 there were no ‘roads’ in the City, there’s now one, Goswell Road becoming part of the Square Mile in 1994 after boundary changes
On 9 September 2012 a dead stowaway was found in Portman Avenue, Mortlake, after trying to enter the country hiding in the landing gear of a plane
In the Old Red Lion, Islington Thomas Paine wrote The Rights of Man and Lenin eavesdropped on conversations via the dumb waiter lift shaft
Peter Cook lived at 17 Church Row, Hampstead where he regularly entertained friends such as Peter Sellars and Willie Rushton
Due to its status as a fashion Mecca and length, Regent Street is also referred to as the ‘Mile of Style’ as distinct from Oxford Street
The London 2012 Olympics organizers wanted Keith Moon to play at Olympics ceremony. They realized later that he had been dead for 34 years
Don’t believe the signs telling you how many steps there are: at Belsize Park Station the sign says 219 steps, but there are actually 189
In 1812 Bryan Donkin and John Hall set up the world’s first canning factory in Blue Anchor Lane, Bermondsey
On 9 September 1911 Gustav Hamel conveyed a bag of mail some 20 miles by air from Windsor to Hendon only one of four to make it that day
Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.
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